by Jenna Grey
Lily crept inside, moving cautiously across the wide expanse of reception, her heart pounding so hard that she was sure that he’d be able to hear it as she passed his desk, but he just kept staring down at the newspaper, totally oblivious to her as she staggered up the stairs to Connor’s room. She breathed a heart felt sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her.
Connor was awake. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands pressed between his knees, staring down at the floor. The blinds were open and moonlight flooded the room – every shape and shadow in bright contrast to one another. When he heard the door open and close he looked up and leapt to his feet, rushing to her and throwing his arms around her, holding her so tightly that she could hardly breathe.
“It’s all right, I’m fine,” she said, easing him away. “I felt you there with me, felt you inside my head. And she came, Connor, Hecate herself came to save me. If she would take so much trouble for us, then surely everything is going to be all right.”
“I… felt her power,” Connor stammered, “So…m... much.”
Then Lily collapsed against him and only his arms around her stopped her from hitting the floor.
Connor helped Lily back to the bed. She was more than grateful to sit down, her legs had long since given up in protest, and she had barely been able to keep them under her. She was shaking violently, her teeth chattering. She pulled the duvet around her shoulders, huddling inside it. Connor sat down beside her, their bodies touching. Even through the duvet, Lily could feel his warmth against her arm.
“Connor, so much has been happening. I just don’t know what’s going on any more and I’m so afraid,” she said. Connor reached across and grabbed his iPad.
It is ok u are safe here black king used the girls to try and hurt you because it can not touch u it can only touch u in the half world
It took her a few moments to unravel what he had typed, then she understood. These creatures, the daevas, and the Black King himself could only physically touch her when she was in that twilight world between waking and sleeping, once she was fully awake he had to use a human to do his dirty work for him.
She was grateful for small mercies, but in the scheme of things it didn’t really make her feel that much better.
“That’s not all. Something terrible has happened,” she said. “That creature’s murdered a friend of mine. It just killed him out of spite, to hurt us. I’m so afraid for the kids.”
Connor frowned, words eluding him.
I know i saw him do it i could not stop him
“Why is he doing this? I just don’t understand.”
Connor gave a helpless shrug and wrapped her in his arms, holding her close, rubbing her arms to try and warm her.
Lily suddenly remembered why she’d actually come. She had been so fraught it had totally slipped her mind.
“Connor, I’ve brought some ointment that might help you, might help you see this world better. I just need to put it on your eyelids.”
Connor shook his head and gave a melancholy smile.
I already tried that and the magic is no good
Of course, Lily should have realised that was the first thing he would have thought of – he made the charm to ward off the Shadow People, of course he would have tried to make his own ointment. How stupid she was.
“Well, it’s here now, every ointment is different – I got it from a witch’s Book of Shadows. It won’t hurt to try it, anyway.”
She took out the ointment and put a little on the tips of her fingers, smearing it over his eyelids. For a moment he just blinked at her, then he closed his eyes and opened them again, and the expression on his face told Lily that something had happened. Connor put his hand up to his face and stared at it.
“Can see...” he said. Then he started laughing far too loudly. Lily flapped a hand at him, but she was ecstatic, just seeing that look on his face told her that it had been at least partly successful,
“Shhh, someone will hear you. Can you see this world? Has the other world gone?” Lily asked. Connor looked around the room, then stood up and moved from one place to the other, touching things, running his hands over them.
“Can see...”
He was jubilant, examining every inch of her face, tracing the outline with his fingers, ecstatic. He moved in and pressed his lips to hers in a long and heartfelt kiss, only breaking off when they were both out of breath. She blinked at him and gave a little laugh.
“Wow,” she said, “I’ll have to work miracles a bit more often.”
“It is good magic,” he said, haltingly, beaming a smile at her.
“You’ll need to keep using it. I’ll make you some more. You’ll need to keep it hidden, they’ll take it from you otherwise.”
As Lily looked at Connor, into his eyes, she became aware of something that certainly hadn’t been there before ‒ a kind of bright intelligence, an understanding of what was going on around him. Connor was back in charge of his own body, not completely, but enough for him to cope.
“Yes,” he said. I am here.”
Connor was gazing at her face intently, and she understood now that he was seeing her clearly for the first time; there was a greater focus to his gaze, more intensity.
“It’s a pity the ointment only works on your eyes. I’ll need to try and find something that works on your ears as well.”
“Is better,” he said. “can think better.” His words were still stilted, but she could see that they were coming more easily to him. “I missed... you,” he stammered, reaching across and taking her hand in his.
Lily nodded a sigh. She hadn’t realised right until that minute just how much she had missed him as well.
“I missed you too.”
Their fingers entwined, and Lily felt a wonderful warm feeling tingle up through her hand, filling her whole body with a delicious sensation that made all of the pain and misery go away. He pulled back a little and pressed a kiss to her forehead, looking down at her with unmistakable love in his eyes. Lily gave him her ‘sorry’ face.
“I can’t stay long,” she said. “I have to get back to the kids, they’re in danger all the time I’m here.”
Connor’s face crunched into a sad little frown.
“Little while...” he insisted. How could she refuse? He looked so desperate, pleading.
“The charm you gave me. Will it really keep me safe when they come at night?”
A nod.
“I’ll make some charms for the kids, that should keep them safe while they’re asleep, but I’m so worried for them. From what you’ve said, the djinn can’t physically hurt them during the day, but they could possess someone else and get them to do it. I just don’t know what to do to protect them.”
“You... will find a way,” he said, and smiled.
Leaning forwards, Connor placed another soft, sweet kiss on her lips. She gave herself to it, melted into it. His lips were so soft, full and moist, like peach skin. She suddenly realised that she wanted more and she quickly pulled away. Whatever she felt for him now certainly wasn’t filial, or platonic, it was something far more intimate. She let him wrap her in his arms for a few more minutes, before she reluctantly pulled away and made for the door.
“I really have to go. I’ll come back tomorrow to let you know what’s happening. Stay safe,” she said, looking back over her shoulder at him. He smiled and nodded, but the moonlight betrayed him and she caught sight of the silver pearls of tears in his eyes, before she closed the door.
Once outside, Lily just took to her heels and ran, not looking back and just praying that the creature had had enough for one night. The girls had gone, presumably picked up by the ambulance and taken to the local accident and emergency department. She felt so desperately sorry for them; tomorrow she’d try and discreetly find out what happened and see if she could go and visit them and give them some healing. It was the least she could do.
Lily ran, expecting an assault every step of the way, but there was noth
ing, no movement, no djinn, no scary possessed teenagers. She was almost home, moving at a good pace through the small wooded lane. It was banked high on either side, with trees tight packed along the entire length of the leafy tunnel, making a great arch above her that blotted out the moon. Just another few hundred yards and she would be safe.
And then there was a sharp dull pain at the back of her neck that made sparks fly in her head and she lost consciousness.
Chapter Eleven.
Lily opened her eyes and stared into the darkness, her brain too addled to work out where she was or what had happened to her.
Then two dreadful realisations struck her simultaneously: she was gagged and hog tied, and she was lying up to her chin in stinking, freezing water.
She panicked, wriggling and trying to push herself up out of the reeking liquid, but her bound feet slipped on the slurry and she plunged backwards, submerging her completely. She thrashed about, frantic, trying to breathe, coughing and spluttering up the black filth that was attacking her lungs, choking her. The rag gag was no barrier to it – it seeped in around the sides, soaked the porous fabric, filling her mouth, clogging her nostrils and throat, driving her to panic.
She gasped and choked her way through the next long seconds, her eyes streaming, more afraid than she had ever been in her life. She tried to focus her eyes, to make out something in the darkness, but there was nothing but black velvet surrounding her. She felt dizzy, disoriented, her head filled with a cosmos of pink stars, that fizzed and sparked like popping candy as she struggled to get herself upright. The back of her head was a pounding pain and her lungs burnt. She struggled against the ropes that pinned her arms behind her, but quickly realised that they weren’t ropes, they were plastic flex cuffs – she could feel them cutting into her as she pulled against them. There was no way she could ever wriggle out of them.
She could make out shapes in the darkness now – something bobbing on top of the water, and finally understood her predicament. She was surrounded on all sides by slimy brick walls: an old well of some kind, and there was the most disgusting stink coming from somewhere. It was the smell of death; she knew it well enough.
She soon found the source.
The bloated and distorted shape of a dead cow came into her field of vision and as she drew in a deep breath the vile stench of its decay hit her full force. She felt the bile rising, encouraged by the slime that still coated her throat and inside of her mouth, and knew she was going to throw up. And she also knew that if she did, she was dead. With this gag around her mouth, she would choke on her own vomit.
She felt the sick rising, but managed to keep it down, panicking now, desperate to empty her stomach, knowing that if she did it would have nowhere to go, but back down into her already tormented lungs. It took every iota of her will power, every prayer to keep the contents of her stomach where they were, and finally the feeling subsided and she thought that she would be okay. She brought up a small amount of bile and it sat in her mouth and throat, burning acid.
Lily managed to get her legs under her, wobbling, and almost passing out as the sudden height hit her. She strained her eyes, looking around to see if there was any way out, knowing already that there would be none, and trying not to give way to panic. The walls rose high above her – she must be twenty feet down. Even if her hands and feet hadn’t been tied there was no way that she would be able to climb out of here. She had to try and find another way. She looked around, desperately trying to regiment her scattered thoughts.
The first thing she noticed was the water trickling in from between the age worn bricks on one side, close to the water level – it held possibilities – if she could prise the bricks out, flood this thing, then she might be able to swim to the surface – except that with her hands and feet tied she wouldn’t swim – she’d drown. The first thing she had to do was to free herself.
Her eyes were drawn to the cow, its form too clearly visible to her in the moonlight that filtered down. The poor animal must have been there for ages, swollen and grotesque from the gasses that bloated it like some macabre balloon; its belly was a great dome of half rotted hide, its head under the water, just two horns jutting out of the inky liquid. And she was going to end up like that if she couldn’t get out of this place.
Her thoughts were coming to her more clearly now, struggling to form themselves into some kind of useful pattern; they emerged like earthquake survivors from the wreckage of her mind. She’d had a small knife in her bag, but she had no idea where her bag was now – probably lying at the top of the well along with the torches and solar lights. Her eyesight was far better than any humans, and she could see quite clearly, even though there was very little light filtering through. It was hardly a blessing, because all her perfect vision showed her was that she was trapped down a twenty foot deep well with a dead cow.
If she could get the gag off, she could scream for help, but it was too tightly bound around her mouth, clamped between her teeth, and even if she could get it off, there might be no-one for miles around to hear her. She sat back down and felt around in the water, hoping to find a piece of rusty metal or sharp stone she could use to saw through the flex cuff. She covered every inch of the muddy, stinking floor, bumping along on her behind, raking her hands through God only knew what, but found nothing. She let out a little mewl of despair, determined not to give way to tears. She was freezing, shaking so violently that she was practically convulsing.
Just sitting there like that, contemplating her misery finally brought home the true horror of her situation. Wherever this place was, she was certain that it was well off the beaten track, nobody would find her here. Even the immortal fey could die eventually if they didn’t eat and drink. It was too terrible a death to think about, slowly wasting away down here in this terrible place, finally passing out to slide underneath the water and drown.
She could not let that happen.
Connor, she needed Connor, but if he tried to break out to get to her again, they would probably lock him in his room and throw away the key. She had to get out of here herself.
She had no idea why she let her gaze drift back to the cow, because it certainly wasn’t something she wanted to look at, but she felt her eyes drawn to it, the way onlookers are drawn towards road accidents. You don’t want to look, but you just can’t help staring at the mangled body or the roaring flames. The poor creature had broken its leg in the fall, although she didn’t think that was what had killed it. Its neck was snapped back at an awkward angle, plunging the animal’s head under the water, and she was fairly certain that its demise had been mercifully quick. Its leg, though, had broken at a terrible angle, and a sharp splinter of bone was sticking through the rancid flesh. She bumped herself nearer and examined it more closely. The break was sharp and ragged, splintered to a sharp point. She realised almost instantly that she might be able to use it to saw through the plastic cuff. It would take a long time, but she had that aplenty.
She moved closer to the cow, and felt the bile churning in her stomach and fought desperately against it. She moved her face down to the jagged piece of bone and stabbed the cloth against it, trying to tear the fabric. She felt the end sink into it, making a hole and she began to move against it, trying to make the hole bigger, tear an opening in the fabric. She caught her cheek on the sharp edge of bone and let out a stifled yelp of pain as she felt the flesh open and blood seep through the fabric to add to the other vile tastes that already filled her mouth. She ignored it and kept sawing, retching and trying to hang on just a little longer. She felt the fabric give, and she fought for every second as she felt the bile rising again, tearing desperately against the fabric, making the opening large enough, just hoping to shred enough to be able to get it off altogether.
Then she threw up and felt the vomit filling her mouth, a horrible burning filth that threatened to drown her. She kept stabbing at the fabric, gasping and choking, desperately trying to slash it open, and felt another wave of nausea hit he
r, but her mouth was suddenly free of the first wave, as it found its way out through the tears, just in time for the second wave to hit her. She emptied her stomach, retching so hard that she thought she would bring up her stomach lining, but she didn’t choke. Somehow, miraculously, she still lived, a gasping, wheezing, retching mess, but she still lived.
Once the feeling of nausea had passed, she felt better; she could do this. She could do this. She manoeuvred herself into position and began tearing at the flex cuffs with the broken piece of bone, sawing it backwards and forwards across it. She finally felt it begin to give, and with one determined yank, it eventually snapped. Lily pulled off the gag and wiped her arm across her mouth, trying to get rid of the dreadful taste; she spat out as much as she could and drew in cautious air.
Now to get her feet free. She realised that they had been tied with rope, not flex cuffs and she bent forward to see if she could untie the knot. Her fingers were numb and as hard as she tried she couldn’t free the knot. There was only one option. She reached across and pulled hard on the broken bone, levering it backwards and forwards in a see-saw movement, to try and detach it from the body. The rotten flesh pulled away easily, leaving behind a putrid heap of gelatinous flesh, but she had the lower part of the cow’s leg in her hand, and she would soon be free.
She felt such overwhelming relief to be free and on her feet again, that she almost forgot that she wasn’t really that much better off. She was still down a very deep well with no obvious way out. Her first and immediate thought was that she bloody well wished that fairies could fly, but she’d tried it a few times and got nothing but bruised shins for her trouble. If she was going to find a way out of here it was going to have to be as a human, not fey. The sides were too sheer for her to even think about climbing out; she had to find another way. Her attention went back to the opening in the brickwork letting through a small amount of water. If there was more water behind there, she might still be in with a chance. She knelt down and examined the opening – the cement or whatever it was holding the bricks in place looked age-rotted, soggy clumps of slimy sand or filling. She wedged the tip of the cow bone in between two of the loosest bricks and gouged out the crumbling fill between them. She found it came away quite easily and it only took her a few minutes to prise out the first brick. More water began to pour in, but not enough, it would still take days to fill the well. She prised out another brick and the water began pouring in now with a vengeance, gushing around her legs and almost making her lose her footing. The cow beside her shifted and began to lurch, freeing itself from the clinging mulch that had kept it anchored, bobbing up to the surface, and letting out a terrible burst of methane. If Lily hadn’t been sick before she bloody well would have been now, if her stomach wasn’t totally empty. The poor creature’s head broke surface and she turned away from the sight of the rotting skull, the eyeless sockets, and rictus grin.